The New King's Wife
by sapphireheart22
Summary: Modern day goblin King/King's Wife story. Genesis Clark moves to Hallow Hill Lodge with her father after the death of her mother, and unknowingly captures the attention of a certain King when she does. T for safety
1. Chapter 1

Marak's POV

Marak Crowfeather was faced with a problem. A huge problem. He needed a King's Wife. It was only a few days after the death of his mother and father, and his advisers were already buzzing about where his bride could come from.

"One of the village girls would do," Doti, his former tutor from when he was only a child, told him one evening. "There are plenty of nice girls there, and any one of them would make an ideal King's Wife."

Doti was very elf-pretty in goblin terms, very similar to Marak himself. She was tall and skinny, and covered from head to toe in cat fur. Her eyes were large and amber, and she had a cat's ears and tail.

Marak looked almost human. He was tall, six feet five inches, with silver-gray skin. His eyes were dark blue. His ears were long and pointed. The only really odd things about him were the black feathers mixed in with his black hair. He frowned, displeased. He had already looked over all the village girls, and neither of them were the slightest bit of human-elf cross. He wanted a bride who was at least partly elf.

"If m'lord doesn't find any of the village girls satisfying, perhaps he would like to see the girl who just moved in with her father at the Hallow Hill Lodge," his military adviser, Scree, squawked. He was a bird goblin. He was only three feet tall, with a beak and feathers growing over his face, and a hawk's clawed feet. "She certainly looks like an elf."

Marak glanced at Scree appreciatively. His military adviser always knew what he wanted even before he spoke of it aloud. "What would this maiden's name be?" he inquired curiously. Scree always took stock of the humans living around Hollow Lake; surely he would know the name of this girl.

"Genesis Maree Clark," Scree squawked, pleased to have his lord's attention. "Her father has been living in the Lodge for some time, and Jaidyn is just now joining him. I had Clary follow her for a day and a night." Clary was a goblin who could transform into the shape of a sparrow, a bird who could easily follow someone without being conspicuous. "She sometimes likes going out to the tree circle at night." When he said this, Scree looked pointedly at the goblin King, who was watching Scree with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I'll watch her tonight," he said slowly, running his fingers through his black hair. When he pulled it away, two feathers came away with it, twined around his fingers. He brushed them away thoughtlessly. "I might even reveal myself to her. Scree, you come along. I might need some help if she's part elf."

Scree nodded and pulled a cloak around himself, pulling the hood over his face just as Marak did. They quickly strode to the iron door, Scree sometimes having to sprint to catch up to the long-legged goblin King.

Genesis's POV

Genesis picked at the food on her plate, occasionally nibbling on some morsel or another, but never taking a complete bite. She carefully watched her father as he shoveled food into his mouth, feeling slightly sickened by the sight. She had never been able to finish a meal, not even when she was a baby. There was just something wrong with her. If she tried to eat even one whole piece of bread her stomach would start churning unhappily and she would be sick for the rest of the day or night. Of course, she never went completely without food. She would eat small snippets here and there, but never anything more than a few bites.

Genesis's father glanced up and noticed his daughter listlessly pushing the food around on her plate with her fork. "Is there something wrong with the food?" he asked, swallowing the mouthful of potatoes and gravy that he had just shoved into his mouth.

"I guess I'm just not very hungry," she mumbled, bowing her head so that her white-blonde hair covered her face. It made her uncomfortable to have people looking at her. Through her curtain of fine hair, she saw her father's silhouette shrug and continue eating. Mrs. Cox, her father's housemaid, gently reached over and patted Jaidyn's arm kindly.

"Just a bit of homesickness," the old woman said sympathetically. "It'll pass in a few days."

Genesis knew that it wasn't true, but she smiled gratefully at Mrs. Cox for the effort anyways. She was a sturdy old woman with a gently wrinkled face and dark gray hair that was twisted up into a simple bun high on her head. "I think I'll go for a walk," Genesis told her quietly, getting up from the table to escape outdoors.

"Make sure not to get lost, dear," Mrs. Cox gently instructed.

"I'm only going to the tree circle," the girl assured the woman. "I won't get lost."

She quietly opened the back door and slipped outside, shutting it just as quietly as she had opened it. She sighed as she began walking up the trail towards the magnificent circle of trees that Mrs. Cox had shown her on her first day at Hallow Hill. The tree circle was the only place where she really felt at home. England was great and everything, but it was nothing like America. The night air was cool on her face and arms, and the dirt felt nice against the soles of her bare feet. The stars were shining bright silver in a dark indigo sky, and Jaidyn looked up at them and smiled. The moon was a full, silver disk hanging in the sky alongside the stars. Jaidyn had always loved nature, especially the stars and the moon. She made sure to look at them every night, whether from the safety of her bedroom window, the peacefulness of the Lodge's front lawn, or the wild beauty of the forest on the Lodge's property. They were just so beautiful.

Marak's POV

The girl was beautiful. She was standing in the middle of the tree circle, staring up at the moon with a small smile on her heart-shaped face. Her hair was white-blonde. In the back it was cut close to her scalp, and it was chin length on either side. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were mismatched: the left eye was emerald green, while the right eye was sapphire blue. She was long-limbed and curvy.

Standing beside Scree in the shelter of the trees, Marak stared and stared at Genesis as she carefully sat down on the grass and began randomly plucking at blades of grass, putting them between her lips and using them as whistles. Her brow was furrowed in innocent concentration as a sharp sound arose from the grass. Marak watched in fascination as the concentration on her face melted into a timid smile.

"Didn't I tell you?" Scree squawked quietly, looking at his lord's stunned face.

Marak nodded soundlessly, watching as the girl layed down on her back and pulled a small, white contraption out of her pocket. She unwound two strings from around it and put one string in each ear before closing her eyes and tapping her foot.

"Are you going to reveal yourself to her?" Scree inquired, raising his feathered eyebrows.

Marak studied the girl's face. She looked shy, and he didn't want to scare the girl. He would save that for later. Shaking his head, he told Scree, "I think that watching is more than enough for tonight. I'll introduce myself later."

Scree didn't exactly agree with the goblin King's decision, but he nodded anyways, loathe to do anything that might upset his lord. So King and military adviser settled down for a long night of watching Jaidyn as she lay in the tree circle, unaware that anything else might be going on.

**This is my first Hollow Kingdom fanfiction, so please don't flame me. Read and Review! Pretty please?**

**Sapphireheart22**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Genesis's POV

The next morning, Genesis was woken by a loud knock on her door. "Wake up," her father called through the door. "It's almost noon."

Genesis raised her head blearily and blinked at the door. She'd fallen asleep in the tree circle and had woken up at around midnight. She'd stumbled her way back to the Lodge and had promptly done a faceplant on her bed and passed out, her iPod earphones still in her ears. At the moment, _Rockstar_ by Nickelback was playing in her head; at some point in the night, she'd accidentally hit the repeat button. "I'm up," she mumbled loudly at the door.

Her father banged on the door again. "Up you get, Genny," he called again.

Genesis groped around the edge of her bed, grabbed the first thing she could reach, and threw it at the door. It hit the old wooden door with a loud thump and fell with a fluttering of pages. Genesis peered at the floor and saw that it was the photo album she had brought from her home in America. She immediately got up from bed and picked it up, smoothing its wrinkled cover, murmuring words of comfort to it. She knew that it couldn't hear her, that it wasn't alive, but she felt horrible for throwing it in the first place. She blinked back tears. This photo album held all her memories from the time she was thirteen to the day that social services shipped her to England.

She flipped open the plain black cover and was met with a crowded page full of pictures. She stared at the first picture she saw and smiled, a small, melancholy smile. It was a picture of her and her friends sitting on the front steps of the Neosho Middle School on their first day of seventh grade. They all looked more than a little nervous, and Genesis laughed as she found one particular person. It was a boy with clunky glasses, choppy brown hair, big front teeth. _Poor Jonathon_, she thought, still smiling. _No wonder everyone called him Beaver Boy._ She saw a girl with chin-length blonde-brown hair, blue eyes, and a pudgy belly. _Sweet Angie_. She sighed and flipped the book closed. She gently set it on her bed as she dressed in her trademark clothes: a black tank top, blue jeans, and a pair of scuffed-up cowboy boots.

She opened her phone and found a text message from Angie, one of her oddest friends.

**To: Genesis**

From: Angie

G'night. Luv u sis, byby. Lylas.

Genesis smiled and texted:

**To: Angie**

From: Genesis

Mornin', girl. Love You Like A Stalker. Talk to ya later.

Angie sent her a smiley face back, and Genesis was suddenly very grateful for cell phones. Otherwise how would she be able to talk to her adoptive sisters? She clomped out the front door, avoiding her father and Mrs. Cox, and headed down to Hollow Lake with the photo album clutched to her chest. She chose a spot well away from the water since she couldn't swim and began looking at the photos of her and her friends.

Marak's POV

Marak found his bride sitting by the lake, looking a book full of photos. He knew what a camera was—his father had taught him—and he knew that they produced incredibly life-like pictures, but he had never seen them before. It was very early evening, and his eyes were smarting horribly, but he had been awake all day, tossing and turning. Finally, he had decided: this night would be the night when he captured Genesis. He had confirmed that she was of elf blood when she was asleep in the tree circle. He'd tested her for magic, and the sparks had flown so furiously from her hand that he'd almost been burned. She was almost completely elf.

He watched her for a moment, the emotions playing across her beautiful face. Sadness, happiness, pain…he felt all of them with him. He decided that it would be his mission to make her smile from now on. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into the open and said very quietly, "Hello." He had purposely not worn a cloak.

He saw Genesis look up absently and look down at her picture book again before her head snapped toward him. Shock and horror filled her face as she scrambled to her feet, pulling the picture book with her. She stood there and stared at him, blinking rapidly, as though hoping he was some sort of dream. _Or a nightmare_, he thought, watching her face. "Hello," he said again.

His voice seemed to jostle her back to reality. "Wh-who are you?" she whispered, taking a step backwards, her face paling considerably.

"My name is Marak," he told her. "I am the goblin King. And you must be Genesis Clark."

"Goblin?" she whispered, seeming not to hear his last statement. She shook her head sharply and asked, "Why are you here?" She didn't look at him.

Now for the difficult part. "I'm here to make you my Wife."

**Ooh, cliffhanger. O.o Please Read and REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Genesis's POV

"I'm here to make you my Wife."

Genesis stared at that gruesome face, going even paler than she was when she'd first seen him. _His Wife?_ she thought faintly. She vaguely noticed that the goblin was looking at her strangely, like he was afraid that she'd topple over. She took a step backwards, still clutching the photo album. She felt like if she let it go, she'd lose her sanity and be forever unable to return to her friends in America or her father, sitting unsuspecting in the Lodge with Mrs. Cox, probably waiting for her to get home.

The goblin took a step towards her, and Genesis stumbled backwards. She was trapped. One one side of her, the road was blocked by a stubborn-looking horse, and on the other side, the cool blue expanse of Hollow Lake stretched before her. Behind her was dense forest, and in front of her was the goblin King.

Marak's POV

The poor thing looked terrified. Not that he didn't expect her to, of course. He chuckled under his breath, and Genesis's mismatched eyes sharpened. He smiled at her, trying to remain calm. She was powerful enough to cause some serious damage if she wanted to. Of course, Marak was much stronger than she was, but he would hate to have to use a binding spell to get his bride to come with him to his kingdom. He glanced at the moon just starting to make its way above the horizon. "We should get going," he said, taking another step forward. "Soon it'll be time for the wedding, and the whole kingdom is expecting us."

"Don't touch me," she ordered shakily. She had backed right into a thornbush, and was fighting to disentangle her feet from the clingy plant.

Marak sighed. So she was going to make things difficult, was she? "My dear, I'm sure you'll find that you have no means of escape. Besides, my kingdom isn't so bad." He smiled reassuringly at her, and she flinched. "Now, will you come with me like a civilized being, or do you insist on being carried like a sack of flour?"

She'd freed her feet while he was talking and was now edging towards the path to the Lodge. Marak sighed and waved his hand at the path. Behind his horse, Tara, briars sprouted from the earth, thorns growing viciously. Genesis gaped at it, eyes wide. _An elf who doesn't know about magic_, he mused. While she was distracted, he quickly moved forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, entrapping her within the circle of his arms. _Go to sleep, Genesis_, he ordered silently. She fought for a moment before slumping against his chest. The picture book fell from her hands and opened to a page in the middle of the book. Marak bent down to look at it. There was Genesis, lying on the sidewalk with her head on another girl's stomach. Another girl was sitting with her back leaning against Genesis's knees, which were up in the air. The last girl had her head in Genesis's lap, and was smiling widely at the camera. Genesis was staring at the sky, a peaceful smile on her face; it was clear that she hadn't known the picture was being taken. They were in front of a white Victorian house.

He glanced down at the beauty in his arms, a troubled expression on her face, even in her sleep. _Soon she'll be able to smile at_ you_ like that_, he told himself proudly. He bent his neck to kiss her forehead. _Soon she won't think that you're a monster at all._

**Yay, finally updated! Please Read and Review, and I thank you, Z, for reviewing my story. You're the best!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Mixed POV

"Genesis, wake up."

Genesis frowned and tried to shut out the horribly familiar voice that kept drifting into her head. She turned her head away from it and tried to sink back into the dreams; the dreams of the nice times, when her mother wasn't quite so mean and drunk…

"Genesis, you must wake up," the voice persisted. She felt an icily cold hand on her bare shoulder. She jolted awake, jerking her shoulder away from the hand, nearly falling from the stone bench she was resting on. She opened her mismatched eyes and stared with open terror at Marak, who was looking at her with some concern. When he saw her eyes, though, he seemed to calm. He smiled and chuckled. "Silly elf," he scolded fondly. "You almost missed our wedding."

Genesis felt her shock turn to panic, and she whipped her head around, looking for an exit. There were two doors, but when she ran to one and tried to yank it open, she found that it was locked. As she slammed her closed fist against the door, she heard something clink against it. She looked down. Two golden shackles were looped around her wrists, and her feet were shackled, too. She turned to the goblin King. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she demanded.

He flashed a grin at her, pleasantly surprised. He knew she hardly spoke—he had a feeling that it was even rarer for her to swear at anyone. "It's almost time for the wedding ceremony," he said casually. "And I do believe that you'll want some things explained to you." He took a step forward, and she took a step back until she was wedged into a corner, hands behind her back. She tried to glare fiercely at him, but one look at his inhuman face made her wince and look away.

"I want to go back to the Lodge," she mumbled, blinking away tears.

"You'll never go back to the Lodge," he commented, watching as she fought for composure. "You'll be happy here," he added more kindly. "Our marriage won't be as horrible as you're probably imagining it to be."

She slid down the wall and wrapped her arms around her legs, hiding her face in her knees. "Yes, it will," she said, her voice muffled. "It'll be so horrible I'll die. I won't see the stars or my friends anymore."

He sat beside her, and she shuddered at the feel of his cold skin. She felt him stroke her short white-blonde hair, and her grip on her legs tightened. "No, you'll never be able to see them again," he said quietly. "But goblin life isn't too bad," he added cheerfully. "The King's Wife is adored by all her subjects. They adored my mother, after all, and she wasn't the easiest woman to love."

"Neither was mine," she remarked wearily. Marak glanced sharply at her. He knew, mostly. He'd seen the faded bruises on her shoulderblades, and the ones on her leg when he'd removed her shoes to place the shackles on her ankles. There was silence for a moment. Neither girl nor goblin said a word.

Then Marak announced cheerfully, "Well, I do believe that the goblin women are getting very impatient with me. They've been waiting weeks to do you up for our marriage ceremony, and I don't think they want to wait much longer."

He felt her stiffen even more than she already had. He reached to a table near them and pulled down a goblet full of potion that would take away her voice. "Drink this," he ordered. "It'll make sure you can't speak any spells during the ceremony."

"What spells?" she asked blankly, raising her head to stare at him. Her mismatched eyes made him feel like he was looking at two different people at once. He liked them immediately.

"Elfen spells," he replied with a sharp-toothed grin, "since you are, of course, an elf."

"No, I'm not," she snapped at him. "I am very much human and in no way magical. Zilch, nadda, nope. No magic whatsoever."

Marak raised his eyebrows at the distinct edge in her voice and chuckled. So, his bride had already discovered the magic and was frightened by it. This could be very good or very bad. "Well, in any event," he said gently, "the drink is part of the ceremony. And don't worry: it only steals your words for as long as it takes me to complete the ceremony."

"Great," she muttered, taking the goblet. Marak smiled; it seemed as though she'd run out of fight for the moment. He watched her take a big long gulp of it and wrinkle her nose. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was, "Gehhh." She blinked in surprise and snapped her mouth shut.

He laughed as he left the room. There was no doubt in his mind that Genesis would make a fine King's Wife.

**Read and Review.**


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